A Little Marble Angel
by MoonRoseGoddess
Summary: Ana Hall just got saved by her knight and shining armour, Sir Jonathan Depp, but will she be able to deal with the fact that he is mixed up in more trouble than he lets on?


A Little Marble Angel  


A little marble angel, no larger than child, sits on his marble pedestal. It's raining in the park. The leaves are moving with every little droplet of water that falls from the heavenly sky, humming softly in the life giving water as if whispering secrets to each other in the safety of the night. The grass below seems to shimmer in the pale moonlight that seeps through, disrupted only by the warm wind coming from the east. Yet that wind had its own plan as it began to breathe harder, almost mercilessly upon the tall trees that just moments ago basked in its caress and now whimpered against its power and ferocity. The cruel dark clouds above, pulled by the wind, began to cover the only remaining light, making a scared, wet, and petrified girl fear for her life even more.

This began day quite differently. It was sunny with the promise of laughter and a calling for play as Ana sat peacefully reading her book on the bench in the park, wearing her favorite yellow tea rose gown and half hidden in the shade of the mighty tree behind her. Who knew that today's summer day would be so stifling hot, almost unbearably so. Her eager friends crowded around her as several gentlemen came to her side, mesmerized once more by her stunning green eyes, her hidden smile, and long locks of light brown hair neatly pinned to her head.

"Ana dear" a sweet friend of hers, Peter cooed, as he tried to hastily adjust his tie after having run in the meadow with everyone else, playing games. "You really must join us or you will break the hearts of all these gentlemen."

She smiled, blushing at his complement and seeing the eager and pleading faces of the other young men. All the men smiled at her charmingly, all but one, Arthur. He used to seem particularly handsome to her among the others but their history together had made their relation far less than friendly. They had once been friends, great friends but that had changed. There was a time that they could say anything and everything to each other but she lost trust in him. He once poured sweet words into her ears, trying to convince her that they would marry and many were convinced to that false premonition, yet her vision became clear once she saw him cornering another girl, whispering the same sweet words she loved so dearly. From that day on, she felt herself slip away, tearing herself away from his embraces and soon enough she finally felt herself relieved of the burden of caring for someone who would barely blink at the mention of her name. No, that day made things too clear and she was thanking every god and saint that she had learned that painful truth and did not have to suffer in her ignorance of his true self.

"Please," Peter pouted, making the girls giggle. "I honestly cannot see us having fun without you"

"Alright," Ana laughed, "I suppose I must hurry before the women in the whole of London, start stampeding here upon seeing you pout in hopes of comforting you."

"You're a treasure," he said giving her a hand.

It has been at least two hours of non stop laughter, and this hour's game was hide-and-seek. Many of the girls hid behind bushes, giggling, uncaring of their messy tresses and dirty satin shoes, while the boys hid behind trees, only Ana ran for the apple tree, thickly decorated with juicy fruit and leaves, enough to conceal her for a long time and she hoped not to be found. Arthur was seeking and she preferred to hide. As each of the players were discovered, emitting a giggle of excited surprise, Ana could see Arthur's scowl grow with each failure at his inability to find her. She sensed his tension and became more determined than ever to remain where she sat, perched on a branch of the tree, just below a birds nest. At least 10 minutes later, the search was near completion everyone was out of hiding, everyone but her.

Her hand delicately pulled back a small branch in order to view their attempt at trying to find her, but something else stole her attention. Walking on the park path, a man of mid-twenties held his black briefcase loosely by two fingers as he enjoyed the summer sunshine. He briefly paused to look at her friends entranced in yet another fit of laughter before his eyes found Ana, who startled by his gaze, let go of the branch and held onto the tree even tighter, hoping that this man's gaze just passed her way. He smiled, first looking back at her friends and then proceeding slowly to the tree as if wishing to sit on the bench just below it, a bench where she had left her book. No amount of will could have kept her from watching this man approach. Something about his confidence and mysteriousness seemed to call out to her. His hair was neatly combed, as was the fashion at the time and he wore a very rich black suit, something she was certain was fit for the King's Court and not a park. His slow pace made her hear beat just a little faster and in her fear at her unfashionable choice for a hiding place, she started to struggle up, hoping to climb down before he would come close enough to the tree. Her struggle and the entanglement of her dress on the branch made the branches shake and several apples fell down to the soft grass with a thud.

"Hello" He said, the low timber of his voice making her gasp and loose her balance.

She only gave a breathless exhale as she fell from the tree, her eyes shut tight as she braced herself for a painful landing, but suddenly found herself cushion. Her eyes slowly opened to see that man smiling at her, his strong arms holding her tight.

"Are you alright?" He asked, the same voice sending chills down her spine.

Ana opened her mouth to reply but found her voice had failed her for once, not a sound came out and she was getting lost in the beauty of his chocolate eyes. It wasn't long before her friends noticed them and began calling her name, Arthur, running ahead of everyone.

"Ana are you alright?" He asked, his cold stone gray eyes narrowing as he appraised the man that held her in his arms and was just putting her onto the bench.

"I am fine" she finally spoke, still looking at her savior.

"Did he harm you Ana?" Arthur asked, his bitter voice lacking any real care only the need to have a reassurance of having control.

"What? No. He saved me." She said and turned back her knight in shining armor "I am so sorry sir. I hope I didn't cause you any harm by falling. I am so embarrassed."

"Don't be and you didn't cause me any harm, on the contrary actually. I never had the pleasure of saving such a beautiful angel before and what might be your name dear angel?"

Ana blushed deeply "Ana Hall and your's kind sir?"

"Yes. Do tell us your name" Arthur rudely interjected, crossing his arms on his chest and barely containing a growl of annoyance.

"Sir Depp," her knight in shining armor answered only looking at Ana.

"And do you have an name Sir Depp that comes with that title" Arthur continued bitterly.

"Why yes, Sir Jonathan Depp and would you like to know the rest of my lineage boy?" He quickly countered and watched amused as the people around them gasped in recognition of the name.

Sir Jonathan Depp was a very popular man in London having been called by the King himself to attend the parliament meetings. He was a brilliant lawyer and according to popular rumors, very well off as well as popular with women but he had yet to marry. In other words, he was the most sought out bachelor and he had his eyes set on Ana Hall.

It didn't take Sir Jonathan Depp very long to avoid the masses that surrounded parliament through the knowledge of the silent streets that most avoided. Today was particularly stressful for him as he had been stuck in proceedings for hours, battling old, well-fed men that only held to their beliefs and didn't dare step out of their beliefs or certainly never consider benefiting anyone other than themselves. He had an offer to join some acquaintances in drinking Cherry and smoking cigars, but he politely excused himself and decided to take a walk instead. One thing that living in France had taught him was that drinking in moderation was key, eloquence necessary, and stress was best relieved by enjoying nature and where better but the park that held the statue of a little marble angel that barely anyone knew of. Little did he know, he would stumble upon a young lady sitting up in a tree and then manage to catch her before she had fallen.

Ana shivered as she reached the little angel that seemed to be blowing a kiss as he sat perched on the marble pedestal, his wings folded by his sides. Everything had went wrong after Sir Jonathan Depp and she had left in each other's company to walk and he proposed to show her his favorite statue of the park. They had enjoyed each other's company and spoke of literature, that is until they just got to the statue and out of no where Arthur appears, flushed in anger.

"She's mine" Arthur growled trying to grab Ana's arm but Sir Jonathan Depp managed to quickly hide her behind himself.

"Leave her be!" Ana's knight in shining armor replied whispering "Run!" to her but she remained frozen, paralyzed in her fear.

"She is mine! I've known her for years, we were friends. Get away from her!"

"You WERE friends, not anymore!"

"Step aside before I go through you!" Arthur warned raising his fist in a fury, trying to punch Sir Jonathan Depp who quickly dodged the attack and pushed Ana way so she could run away.

She ran with her heart pounding in her ears, her feet never stopping as she could still hear Arthur's calls of her name and threats. It has been three hours since she ran away. She was sure that an hour ago, Arthur stopped searching but now, she was unfortunately lost and it is raining, a cold rain that had her fingers numb. When the moon had disappeared behind the brutal clouds, Ana whimpered once more and wished she had never agreed to play silly games; she should have just sat peacefully and read.

Her legs were beginning to give way as she went through yet another patch of wilderness that led to a clear area that was still shrouded in darkness, past some prickly bushes that cut her skin, but she barely felt her blood drip. This is where she fell to her knees in utter exhaustion and leaned her head against cold marble. Her tired eyes looked up to see the little angel still blowing a kiss and smiling and her lips trembled as tears threatened to fall down her alabaster cheeks once more. A call in the distance and a light stopped her crying and gave her a new wave of hope. She tried to call for help but her voice worked, yet it did something. The light was now rushing towards her. When the figure emerged, there was a second of fear that it was Arthur, searching for her still, but the caped figure bent down to her and removed his coat, placing it on her shoulders and picking her up in his arms while the little marble angel held the light that illuminated his features. It was Sir Jonathan Depp.

"You will be fine" he muttered. "Over here!" He called to his own search party. "I was so worried about you. He tried chasing you and I managed to stop him. Your parents are worried, I will have one of my men notify them that you are fine and in my care. You are coming with me. I will care for you and protect you and I will never let harm come to you."

"Thank you…for everything…but how can you be so kind to me when you have only just met me?"

"I thought it was obvious," he smiled at her, carrying her in his arms and walking toward the main park path. "It is like love at first falling…No one should treat you like that and you are too precious to me. I ask of you friendship, then love and I will respect and love you no matter your choice." He smiled warmly at her and she raised her hand to caress his cheek.


End file.
